The JR Newsletter is the official e-newsletter of the John Reich Collectors Society. The purpose of the John Reich Collectors Society (JRCS) is to encourage the study of numismatics, particularly United States gold and silver coins minted before the introduction of the Seated Liberty design, and to provide technical and educational information concerning such coins.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

I’ve attended a handful of the PCGS Members Only Coin shows,
three in Las Vegas, one in New Orleans, and the most recent show last week in
downtown Philadelphia at the Double Tree hotel. The attendance last week
in Philadelphia was very strong for one of these shows. I was at the PCGS
show Wednesday through Friday, with Thursday being the best day. The Legend
Rare Coin Auctions sale was Thursday night starting at 5:30pm. The
auctioneer was superb, with JRCS’s own Brad Karoleff calling the entire 548 Lot
auction in just over four hours.

The bourse at these PCGS shows is a relatively small one,
much like an Early American Coppers (EAC) Convention, for those familiar with
these shows. The pace is a little bit slower than a
larger Regional or National show which can be nice as you have more time to
talk to and meet new collectors and dealers.

PCGS treats you well, with full breakfast and lunch buffets,
and ice cream sundaes in the late afternoon! Somehow, I missed the ice
cream on Thursday but I was told it was there…. I enjoyed talking with
the fair number of JRCS members who attended. I missed at least one New
York JRCS member who was only there on Wednesday. He went home Wednesday,
but managed to win an exceptionally attractive 1814 Large Date Capped Bust Dime
in PCGS AU58 (CAC) Thursday night in the Legend auction. At least I got
to view and study this lovely early dime for a little while….

I went to the show primarily to buy for my inventory. I
managed to pick up three lots in the Legend auction, a 1794 Flowing Hair Half
Dime in PCGS XF45 (CAC), a 1799 over 8 “15 Star Reverse” silver dollar in PCGS
XF45 (CAC), and a rare 1862 Dollar (PCGS MS62). I was unsuccessful on a
few other lots I was interested in. I was able to buy a number of nice
early silver coins on the bourse and from wholesale dealers at the show.
I even picked up an 1803/2 Half Eagle (BD-1, R-4) to compliment my normally
heavily silver offerings at shows and on my website.

On Friday night Brad Karoleff, JRCS President and Editor of
the John Reich Journal, Garret Ziss, and I were given a private
tour of the Second Bank of the United States. A highlight of
the week for me, the tour included a private viewing of the Frank Stuart coin
collection formed in the early 1900s after Stuart purchased the first U.S. Mint
building. We plan to share more on this visit in a future article in the John
Reich Journal but suffice it to say that we saw a lot of old
originally toned silver and copper coins, including a 1792 Disme in Copper
(probably Judd-10, one of 19 or so known) and a “pair of” 1792 Half Dismes”
mixed in that were found after Stuart purchased the Mint building.” We
should all have luck like this!

All in all, a good week in Philadelphia. I look
forward to the ANA World’s Fair of Money Convention in Philadelphia next
August. Should be a great show!

Nominees for JRCS Hall of Fame

Nominations for the JRCS Hall of Fame class of 2019 are now OPEN.

The membership is encouraged to send nominations for the Hall of Fame at any time. You can nominate candidates for either the veteran (those who contributed before the advent of JRCS) or the modern (those who have been members of JRCS) categories. Please include any pertinent information about the nominee that you feel necessary. Nominees will then be voted on by the HOF committee and the inductees will be announced at the annual meeting at the ANA convention in the summer. We look forward to seeing your nominations!

Please forward your nominations to bkaroleff(at)yahoo.com or to jrnewsletter(at)gmail.com or to any of the other members of the JRCS board of officers.